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The Phillips is currently hosting the exhibition Art and Wellness: Creative Aging. The display features work from our program which encourages older adults (many of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s or related dementia), along with their families and caregivers, to make connections and access personal experiences and long-term memories through gallery conversations and hands-on art therapy. It is part of an ongoing collaboration between The Phillips Collection and Iona Senior Services.

Through the program, we looked at John Frederick Peto’s Old Time Card Rack. Memories and personal mementos played an important role during a conversation about the painting. Members of the group first noticed the “well worn” and “very old” objects in the picture. One individual said he thought the artwork seemed to be about “memories of one time or another.”

The exploration continued in the art therapy studio at Iona. Members of the group created their own containers of memories, or memory boxes. Pictures and important objects were shared and discussed. One individual, Susan, used this process to reconnect with her mother. She made the work pictured below. She said, “I wanted to honor my mom because I miss her and love her dearly…. This is my tribute to her.”

The Phillips is currently hosting the exhibition Art and Wellness: Creative Aging. The display features work from our program which encourages older adults (many of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s or related dementia), along with their families and caregivers, to make connections and access personal experiences and long-term memories through gallery conversations and hands-on art therapy. It is part of an ongoing collaboration between The Phillips Collection and Iona Senior Services.

Through the program, we looked at George Luks’s Telling Fortunes. Members of the group made observations about the artist’s use of color and the emotional impact of the figure. Individuals were also curious about the woman in the painting. They considered what she may be holding, suggesting a crystal ball, cup, or candle giving off light. They described the figure as looking “amazed,” “curious,” and “intense.”

The exploration continued in the art therapy studio at Iona. Individuals were invited to reflect further by making silk mandalas. Using ink, they were encouraged to let the colors spread on the silk. This freeing and meditative process brought forth feelings of “amazement” and “curiosity” within the group. One group member related her experience to Luks’s painting, stating “This kind of thing has elements of unknown, just like the painting…”

Every time I enter Van Gogh: Repetitions, I have to stop and explore the portraits of Marcelle Roulin on view. Maybe it’s because I have a baby at home. Maybe it’s because I’m in awe of how Marcelle Roulin tolerates the gold bracelet on her wrist and the ring on her tiny finger (I know my daughter wouldn’t). I might just want to squeeze those chubby cheeks. In any case, I’m fascinated by van Gogh’s portraits of a baby who is so new to life.

Van Gogh had a enduring affection for children. When he met Marcelle’s mother, Augustine Roulin, she was pregnant. She gave birth to Marcelle on July 31, 1888. Soon after van Gogh wrote a letter to his brother Theo saying, a baby “has the infinite in its eyes;” in the same letter he shared his intention to paint Marcelle. The artist created 3 individual portraits of Marcelle and two paintings of the baby in her mother’s arms.

The artist wasn’t the only one smitten with baby Marcelle. The following May, Marcelle’s father, Joseph Roulin wrote a letter to van Gogh saying, “Beautiful Marcelle is still doing well, she has two teeth, she is an extraordinary little one, very well-behaved, she has everything in her favour, only when I arrived she didn’t want to see me. It was only when I left that she really looked at me and pulled my beard a little.”